Adjustable stirrup for riding saddle



Oct. 20, 1953 H. J. ELLE 2,655,778

` mnJusTABLE STIRRUP FOR RIDING sADDLEs Filed June l5, 1952 IN V EN TOR,-

Patented Oct. 20, 1953 Fic-E :ADJUSTABLE STIRRUP FOR .SADDLES Herbert :J- tElle, Chicas@ '1.1.1.

Application June 13, 1952,Serial:No.:293287 Cl. .54H44 7 Claims- 1 My invention .relates to 4sti-rrups for VYriding saddles and deals with the vrfacility of .their use. An experienced rider .usually -nds no difficulty .in reaching .a lstir-rup :for mounting the horse, .with .or without .the aid vof Aa mounting block. However, in the vcase of inexperienced rider-s `or :those vwho are of small stature, reaching a stirrup may impose a strain, and'it is therefore one ,object of vvthe present `invention .to `make the .stirrup vadjustable .to a .lower position -to overcome the diiculty.

.A further .object vis .to -pr-.ovide a stirrup Vwhich is rnade in .duplicate las Aa Lunit mounted .Gross- `wise in the region .of the saddle, ,so .that either .stirrup may .be .adjustable as previously astated, `v,according .to .the .side on Awhich the rider mounts the horse.

A .still ,turther object is to .provide a strap .connecting .both stirrnps .and passing through .the saddle, .Such strap being slidable in .one :or .the other Vdirection `to facilitate .the .lowering Aof the .correspondingstirrup Another `object is .to provide stop means on .the strap referred .to in order to x .the extent A.to which either stirrup-is lowered.

' An additional object kis to Aprovide a handy locking vdevice vto maintain .the stirrups `at even Aheight or whenone of `them is lowered as stated.

.Another object ,is to .provide a handy control by .means .0f .which the stirrup unit may vbe re- 'leased for lthe adjustment Yof Athe .stirrups in one or the other direction.

With the above objects in view, a better understanding of Athe invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a transverse view from the rear of the saddle, ,showing the stirrup ystructure in elevation and partly in section;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a frame in the :centerof .the saddle serving lfor the support and adjustment of thestirrupg Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, rshowing the stirrup structure locked;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the stirrup structure unlocked;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a stop device determining the extent of stirrup adjustment; and

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the showing in Fig. 5.

In accordance with the foregoing, specific reference to the drawing indicates the back of the saddle at I9 and the covering of the same at Il. Such covering is built up with a ller I2. Below this ller is a cinch strap I5 carrying the cinch strap links i6, While below the cinch strap VI5 area =pair of :ibase -plies IB, iillers vI9 occurring between :.theacnchstltap andbaseples A metallic frame .252 .is installed in lthe vcenter of the saddle between the=covering H Yand the lcinch strap 45:5. v.The iframe is extended .with

iteet .21.3 which Aare attached .by1rjneansof rivets :.214 tothe cinch stra-p. A metallic-center bow -25 is attaltled .over 4the cinchstrap: and the frame 252 :is .periorated .erosswise fer themes/ase 0i the bow .25 `anda S-tirrup strap .30 in superimposed relation, yas seen-11n iFig-s.. ..2 and -3- The .stirrupstrapsS-O yis inthe Y,form of van arch .and designed t0 'carry both -Stirruns These are :net shown, fbut :buckles 3,1 areshown .at the end lportions of fthe etirrnp strep whereby to render vthe saine adjustable for determining the Aheight of the .stirrups this being .a conventional edjustment. While the stirrup strap may be .made

ter .the .average lrider Q-r .a .partici-.11er ride-r. :the

facility Iof nlowering .one of the stllups to suit .the convenience of rider is attainedby sliding the stirrup strap .3,0 ingone ;or the vother .direction ilhe extent .of ksliding adinstmellt .is determined by vthe resi-tien .0f a Stop device 35 `carried vby thestirrup strap .-30 on each side of .centery .as .Shown 4in Fig. The stop device is lsimply va clip .mounted `on .the .strap .30 and vformed with ears 13.6 which v.are bent .under the strap. The ,strap is made with a longitudinal ,series `of perforations 37|; and the device 35 is made with a center stud I33 which is designed to seat in a given perforation 31, as `shown in Fig. 6. The .device 3.5 therefore constitutes a stop relation 12o-tbe .center from@ .2.2 when lthe Stirrup `strait .is drawn. .the corresponding direction; .and in fcase the adjustment of the .device .35 ist@ be Tciarleel. the Strap is 'Simply drawn LGQSe under lthe stud e8 .as .indicated 1by ,vnely-.dotted 'lines in Fig. fin .order to release the device for sliding movement.

lt is essential that the stirrup strap :3B be vlocked ,in position either *.When :the stirrups are at even jheight or when `one .stirrup has been lowered. .For `this purpose., va docking device is carried by the frame 22 and operates in relation to pairs of perforations and 4| carried by the stirrup strap 30 and the bow 25, respectively. Fig. 3 shows that the frame 22 is formed with a longitudinal guide 42 in which is disposed a bar 43. This bar is ordinarily held down on the stirrup strap 30 by a leaf spring 44; and the bar has a pair of studs which seat in a registering pair of the strap and bow perforations 40 and 4I, locking the stirrup strap from longitudinal motion. The bar 43 extends forwardly into the guide 42 to receive the inner end portion 46 of a lever 41 pivoted at an intermediate point l48 to the guide I42; and the outer portion of the lever 41 is formed with a control plate 49. Thus, pressure on the control plate will cause the lever portion 46 to bear upwardly on the bar 43 and raise the studs 45 out of engagement with the stirrup strap 30, so that the latter may be slid through the saddle in case one or the other stirrup is to be adjusted in height. The bar 43 is formed with a frontal fork 50 hooked on the pivot 48 for anchoring the bar in place, Fig. 4 showing the position of the bar when it has been moved as just described. The control plate 49 is positioned to project upwardly through the saddle seat under the rider,` so that one may reach up over the saddle, before mounting the same, to depress the control plate. After the rider has mounted the saddle, the foot on the side of the higher stirrup is used to depress the same until the stirrups are at even height, when the stirrup strap will be locked automatically at the center, xing the even position of the stirrups.

It will now be apparent that the stirrups and stirrup strap form a unit which straddles the region of the saddle in a manner to facilitate the sliding of the stirrup strap in one or the other direction to place a stirrup at a required Vor convenient height. Further, stops are provided which are adjustable to vary the height as desired. Further, a handy control is provided for locking the stirrup strap in the ordinary or central position, and to stop it when one stirrup extends lower than the other. Finally, the structure for the control and locking of the stirrup is compactly contained in that of the saddle, and is of a simple nature.

While I have described the invention along specific lines, variations are possible in the structure of the stops or of the locking device, whereby to secure a high degree of efficiency both in structure and function. While such variations may be made as stated, the principle of changing the height of the stirrups and controlling it by means of the stops and locking device is the essential feature of the inventiony and I reserve the right to employ any variations of structure which may put such principle into practice without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a saddle; of a strap arched crosswise of the saddle and terminating with stirrups normally at even height, the strap being slidable relative to the saddle to locate either stirrup at a height lower than the normal one, and stop means between the saddle and the strap to x the position of the latter when it has been slid as stated.

2. The combination with a saddle; of a strap arched crosswise of the saddle and termin-ating with stirrups, means between the saddle and the strap to lock the latter in a position to maintain 4 the stirrups at even height, the strap being slidable relative to the saddle when said means are unlocked to locate either stirrup at a height lower than the normal one, and stop means between the saddle and the strap to fix the position of the strap when it has been slid as stated.

3. The combination with a saddle; of a strap arched crosswise through the saddle and terminating with stirrups normally at even height, the Strap being slidable relative to the saddle to locate either stirrup at a height lower than the normal one, a medial abutment carried by the saddle and through which the strap is slidable and stop devices carried by the strap on both sides of the abutment and comprising clips which form limits in respect to the abutment when the strap is slid as stated.

4. The combination with a saddle; of a strap arched crosswise through the saddle and terminating with stirrups normally at even height, a medial abutment carried by the saddle, the strap being formed with a longitudinal series of perforations and -slidable relative to the abutment to locate either stirrup at a height lower than the normal one, and clips carried by the strap on both sides of the abutment and forming limits in respect to the abutment when the strap is slid as stated, said clips being keyed in chosen ones of the perforations to locate the clips in accordance with the desired extent to which the strap is slid.

5. The structure of claim 3, said abutment incorporating a locking device for the strap when it is in the normal position, and means extended from the abutment and operable to release the locking device when the sliding adjustment of the strap is desired.

6. The structure of claim 3J said abutment incorporating a locking 4device for the strap when it is in the normal position, and means extended from the abutment and operable to release the locking device when the sliding adjustment of the strap is desired, the locking device being of the spring latch type to automatically lock the strap against movement when it has been slid back to normal position.

7. The structure of Aclaim 3, said abutment incorporating a spring latch presenting studs, the strap having perforations in which the studs seat when the strap is in the normal position, and a lever projected from the latch land operable to release the same when the sliding adjustment `of the strap is desired.

HERBERT J. ELLE.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 469,957 Blood Mar. 1, 1892 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 17,482 Great Britain 1896 

